Prague Elementary agrees to end morning announcement prayers following First Amendment concerns
Prague Public Schools won’t allow student-led prayer over the intercom at Prague Elementary School going forward, an attorney for the district has told the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The Madison, Wisconsin-based foundation said Monday it had received information from an anonymous community member in Prague that the school had hosted daily prayers during its morning “Rise and Shine” segment. It also said the district’s Facebook page regularly posted photos and names of young students who “asked if they could pray.”
Chris Line, an attorney for the foundation, wrote a letter dated Nov. 7 to Prague Superintendent Kevin Engle about the issue. Line expressed concern the Prague district was violating the U.S. Constitution.
“The First Amendment prohibits a public school from hosting or sponsoring prayer, even if it is ‘student-led,’” Line’s letter to Engle read. “The Supreme Court has continually struck down formal and school-led prayer in public schools."
“Even when student-initiated, which this daily practice is most certainly not given the age of the students and the District’s active participation in organizing and promoting it, the Supreme Court has found school sponsorship of prayers unconstitutional," the letter said.
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On Nov. 17, the district’s attorney, Justin Cliburn, responded to Line’s letter.
“Your letter addressed Prague Elementary School students’ beginning the school day by praying for the school over the school’s public address system and the District’s subsequent social media posts identifying the students by name and image,” Cliburn said. “The District agrees that the posts and prayer are inappropriate for a public school district. It will ensure neither occurs in the future and will delete any District social media posts referencing the same.”
On Monday’s, the Prague district’s Facebook page had no mention of students leading the school prayer on posts that went back to the start of the current school year.
Cliburn confirmed he wrote the letter on behalf of the Prague district but declined further comment on Monday. Engle didn’t return a message from The Oklahoman seeking comment.
The foundation said hosting what it called “official daily school prayers” and then publicly celebrating the students who participate alienates nonreligious students, employees and families whose religious beliefs are inconsistent with the message being promoted by the district.
“Public schools may not impose prayers on their students in any form, including under the guise of student choice — especially when the captive audience of students is so very young,” said the foundation’s co-president, Annie Laurie Gaylor. “We’re glad that we were able to persuasively tutor the school district.”
The Prague district, which serves a city of about 2,300 in Lincoln County, has about 530 students at its elementary school.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Prague Elementary School ends prayers over intercom following concerns
